pears

Local pears are now in season and bursting with flavor and nutrition. Plus, they are cheap – only 15/- each at Mboga Masters. Don’t peel your pears, when cleaned nicely, the skin adds flavor, texture and nutrients. Not peeling also means less work for you 🙂 and less chance of cutting yourself – peeling fruit is tricky business.

Here are some benefits of pears:FIBRE
Pears contain a good amount of the water-soluble fibre called pectin which is linked to good health and longevity in their skin. Fruit skin/ rind in general contains a lot of fibre – which is great for digestion, controlling blood sugar and maintaining a healthy blood pressure. The pectin fibre is also attributed to help with constipation, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and many other digestion-related ailments.VITAMINS & MINERALS
Pears contain a good number of vitamins; Vitamins B2 (helps prevent migraines, treats anaemia among others) C (boosts immunity) & E (cancer and heart disease prevention) can all be obtained from this amazing seasonal fruit. Pears are also a great source of the dietary mineral Potassium whose deficiency is usually associated with risk of high blood pressure.ENERGY
Naturally the fruit contains fructose and glucose which are complex carbohydrates that boost your energy and are also used in cell structure formation. This burst of natural sugars gives you high amounts of sustained energy which is great for people who work out and do not want to consume calorie-heavy foods that will use up some of their working-out energy.NON-ALLERGENIC
This fruit is one of the easiest foods to digest – being one of the first few foods recommended when weaning infants. For this reason it is also recommended for people with food allergies as they often don’t react to them.OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS
Studies have shown pears to be very helpful in cancer prevention, immune boosting and anti inflammatory. They contain folate, which is recommended to pregnant ladies or those of child-bearing age because it helps to avoid birth defects. In traditional Chinese medicine, they simmer the pears and add honey and lemon juice to the mixture and use it to treat throat ailments.